Owner Is Fenced In By Board

Q-I consider it an immoral act for a condo board to ramrod through passage of an assessment large enough to jeopardize one`s home under the guise of ``security.``

After one theft and one purse snatching, two residents are pushing for a $30,000 fence around our property.

Residents must pay $960 each as their share, and if they do not, the association will start foreclosure proceedings.

When checking with my attorney, I found that the board of the association could pass such a tax without the vote of the entire membership.

I am faced with a fence I do not want at a price I cannot afford.

A-I rather agree with you that any nonbudgeted improvement to a property costing $30,000 should probably be put to a vote of the entire membership.

On the other hand, I read in the material you enclosed with your letter that this project has been in the works for nearly two years, has involved the work of an architect and has been pursued by three boards of directors.

Those are not the actions of a clandestine group avoiding the sunshine. It sounds as if your entire community has been at work on this project for some time.

As for the crime issue, there have been a couple of important court decisions in which associations have been held responsible for crimes taking place on the association property when it was determined that the management and board should have known that such crimes were taking place in their area and they did not take adequate, positive steps to protect their owners and guests against its happening again.

As we have mentioned before, boards should let residents make special assessment payments over a period of months if their financial situation requires it.

The board cannot exempt anyone from the assessments or from making their full pro-rata share, but they can make provisions for those whose financial condition requires that they must spread the payments over a longer period of time.

Q-Is there anything I can do about the noise coming from the adjoining condo apartment since they removed all wall-to-wall carpeting and padding and installed ceramic tile?

A-The first thing to look for is any restriction in your condo documents against the installation of tile without first putting down a soundproof underlayer.

Next, see if there are any local building code requirements or limitations.

Following that there are several options, but they all call for the cooperation of the folks with the tile, which may be difficult to obtain.

They may not react kindly to your asking them to take their high heels off when entering their apartment, put plastic gliders under chair legs or ask the kids not to bounce golf balls in the house.

Q-I am looking for information regarding the establishment of rules and regulations governing homeowner associations. I have called numerous state agencies and the library, and no one has been able to help me.

A-If you are looking for a sample set of house rules, they are relatively easy to come by. Just stop by any large condo and ask at the office. Chances are, they will be more than willing to oblige you.

But if you are interested in an excellent guide to help your association to draft new rules or to amend present rules, I recommend starting with a document called ``Drafting Association Rules`` ($10.50), published by Community Associations Institute, 1423 Powhattan St., Alexandria, Va., 22314. The group has another publication called ``Resolving Association Disputes`` ($14.50), which comes in handy when all people do not understand that rules meant for others also pertain to them.

Q-I am renting out my condo and living nearby. I have asked the board of directors to notify me when meetings are planned, so I can attend. The board does not do so. What would you suggest?

A-The board is right, of course. All it must do by Florida law is post notice 48 hours in advance of the meeting. It would be impossible for board members to call all unit owners prior to all meetings, but you could have a friend call you.

On the other hand, a responsible board ought to establish a regular meeting date so that every unit owner will know the schedule.